I realize that last time I posted I said that I was going to post every night that week...and seeing as that was Sept 12 and it's now Sept 29 that didn't happen. Let's be honest, none of you were really expecting me to live up to that, were you? I think the best we can hope for is twice a month. Realistically. Anything more than that will just be extra for you! It isn't that I don't enjoy blogging for y'all because I obviously LOVE the attention (no surprise). I am just constantly facing this battle of the novelty of everything wearing off. I live here now, so all the things that are really different from home are starting to seem a little more normal to me. So that's why I don't update all the time, I forget that somethings would be interesting (hopefully) to hear about. That will be my goal in the coming weeks: Figure out what would be interesting (and funny) and blog about them.
SO. I've done just that for this entry.
One thing that will never become mundane or OK with me, no matter how long I spend in this country is the intense amount of rain we get. It's almost laughable...it would be laughable to me if I weren't in it all the time, so hopefully it will be to you!
During the rainy season (which we're in now until the end of October...UGH) you can count on it to rain pretty much everyday for at least an hour. It isn't just normal rain like we get at home either...it is INTENSE. I think Forrest Gump described it best. "We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin' rain... and big ol' fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath. Shoot, it even rained at night..." (intended to be read with an appropriate amount of southern draw.)
Now, conventional wisdom would say, Hey! The rain is good. It cools everything off so it doesn't get too hot. I would agree with Mr. Conventional Wisdom. It does indeed make things better. Better only in the sense that you can no longer see the sweat stains we're all sporting because every fiber of our beings gets soaked. In a country where personal appearance is very important I think it goes without saying that showing up places looking like a dog fresh from playing in the creek is not necessarily the look I'm going for.
Now, I know what you're all thinking: Come on, Wesley, wise up, get a stupid umbrella!
Let me tell you something. You better believe the first time I got caught in the rain in this country, I went out the next day and bought the BIGGEST umbrella I could find...and it's pretty big. I could fit an entire Thai family under this thing, plus the in-laws. Remember though, what did Forrest say? No matter how big this thing is, the rain literally flies in at a 90 degree angle. So the umbrella effort is futile, despite my best efforts. As a matter of fact, I rarely carry it now...because its so huge. For example, where in the world am I going to put a three foot long umbrella while on the back of a motorbike?
Which brings up another issue: getting from A to B in a torrential downpour. What is the best option for transport? There isn't one. Mai Pen Rai and wait it out...sometimes for a few hours. I carry a book everywhere now.
Before arriving I had heard about the rain, AND about the overwhelming amount of cabs in this city so of course I thought: In the rain, just catch a cab, duh!...apparently everyone else thought that too. Cabs are a true rarity in the rain because everyone wants one. If you're going to get one in an effort to stay dry, you've got to line up on a street corner and wait your turn for the next available cab (during which time you're getting drenched.)
Another option is, of course, the bike. Riding on the back of the bike in the rain is probably one of the most miserable experiences of my life. It seems like you're hitting every single rain drop before it has a chance to hit the ground. AND upon dismounting the bike, not only is your hair looking more than a little wind blown, it's now plastered that way because of the rain. It's really a good look. I have seen some people attempting (with minimal success at times) the umbrella'd bike ride. I have not yet attempted this A. because the rain is coming in from the front at that point instead of from above, and B. because I would be the one guy to Mary Poppins off the back of that bike into traffic because of my obnoxiously large umbrella.
Lastly, the boat. Which actually isn't made much worse by the presence of rain. (except for the potentially slippery rail on the side you must use to get in and out.) It's a boat...so everything is already wet, and the smell is diminished because of all the fresh water dumping into the canal.
Needless to say, I do my best to not be caught in the rain, or have any need to go out in it. It usually rains in the afternoons when I'm off work, so it doesn't matter that I look ridiculous because my appearance no longer matters that much.
Only 5 more weeks of rainy season to go!
Mai Pen Rai!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
I'm on a Boat!
Ok, so I realize that I haven't posted in...well, almost a month. My bad. So I figure to get you guys all caught up, I'll do one short-ish blog every night this week on the various Bangkok goings on. Tonight, my commute to work.
I've chosen one of the most convenient commutes to work considering where I live and where I work. I walk about 5 minutes, ride for 7 minutes, and then walk another 2 and I'm at my school. All in total, its about a 15 minute commute in a city that is known for its traffic, which is great. So, how do I get to work, you might ask?
Please see the title of this post. Yes, that's right, I take a boat. I have to admit, I was made aware of this option very soon after being placed at my school, but casually laughed it off...I was much more willing to pay the extra hundred baht a day (about $3) to take a cab, the BTS (SkyTrain), and motorbike to school, which altogether took about 30 mins. After all, the bike was adventurous enough for me. (It should be noted that I have now become very comfortable with the bike, despite almost having my head take off several times by oncoming rear view mirrors. I think the bike drivers forget how much taller I am than them. No matter though, Mai Pen Rai, I just stay aware, duck and contort when needed to keep my head and limbs attached.
I don't want to get away from the main purpose of this posting though, the boat. To better understand the boat, you'll need the logistics of the matter. Please don't be confused into thinking I'm taking some ritzy, leisurely drift down the canal to work. No. This boat is quick and dirty. The best way for you to get an idea of what I'm talking about is with pictures. As I take the boat everyday, I really have no time to take pictures of my own, so I've borrowed them from others on the internet (please don't sue me).
So, I walk to the dock every morning and hail the boat. (wave my hand in the air to tell the driver (Captain?) that I would like to board) The boat approaching can be seen below. The blue tarp looking thing on the side is basically a silt screen that we put around construction sites in the states...used here to keep the water from splashing onto the passengers, more on the water in a minute. So I wave, they pull up to the dock.
So the boat comes to the dock, most of the time there are some people getting off and more than one getting on, so in those instances the guy in the blue shirt will jump off and tie the boat down (to keep it from moving while we get on.) On the off chance though that I am the only person getting on, and no one is exiting, they get the boat within leaping distance of the dock and one must do just that. Mai Pen Rai, BABY! The tires you see in the picture that hang off the dock serve as bumpers/pant stainers. Many of my pants now have large, seemingly permanent black marks that will forever remind me of the boat. The dismount is much along the same idea, especially if you are the only one exiting. The boat gets close-ish, and you jump.
I've chosen one of the most convenient commutes to work considering where I live and where I work. I walk about 5 minutes, ride for 7 minutes, and then walk another 2 and I'm at my school. All in total, its about a 15 minute commute in a city that is known for its traffic, which is great. So, how do I get to work, you might ask?
Please see the title of this post. Yes, that's right, I take a boat. I have to admit, I was made aware of this option very soon after being placed at my school, but casually laughed it off...I was much more willing to pay the extra hundred baht a day (about $3) to take a cab, the BTS (SkyTrain), and motorbike to school, which altogether took about 30 mins. After all, the bike was adventurous enough for me. (It should be noted that I have now become very comfortable with the bike, despite almost having my head take off several times by oncoming rear view mirrors. I think the bike drivers forget how much taller I am than them. No matter though, Mai Pen Rai, I just stay aware, duck and contort when needed to keep my head and limbs attached.
I don't want to get away from the main purpose of this posting though, the boat. To better understand the boat, you'll need the logistics of the matter. Please don't be confused into thinking I'm taking some ritzy, leisurely drift down the canal to work. No. This boat is quick and dirty. The best way for you to get an idea of what I'm talking about is with pictures. As I take the boat everyday, I really have no time to take pictures of my own, so I've borrowed them from others on the internet (please don't sue me).
So, I walk to the dock every morning and hail the boat. (wave my hand in the air to tell the driver (Captain?) that I would like to board) The boat approaching can be seen below. The blue tarp looking thing on the side is basically a silt screen that we put around construction sites in the states...used here to keep the water from splashing onto the passengers, more on the water in a minute. So I wave, they pull up to the dock.
So the boat comes to the dock, most of the time there are some people getting off and more than one getting on, so in those instances the guy in the blue shirt will jump off and tie the boat down (to keep it from moving while we get on.) On the off chance though that I am the only person getting on, and no one is exiting, they get the boat within leaping distance of the dock and one must do just that. Mai Pen Rai, BABY! The tires you see in the picture that hang off the dock serve as bumpers/pant stainers. Many of my pants now have large, seemingly permanent black marks that will forever remind me of the boat. The dismount is much along the same idea, especially if you are the only one exiting. The boat gets close-ish, and you jump.
These pictures are helpful, but they can't really make clear to you the tenuous nature of this endeavor. In the above picture, look closely at the slim rail that the guy in the blue shirt is standing on. I'm sure it is plenty wide for a normal Thai foot...but as mine are not, the process is made that much more difficult. So you step out onto the rail, holding onto the rope that runs the perimeter of the boat, and swing your other leg down into the boat to safety. That's the easy version. Some mornings the boat is very full and people can't move to make room for you, at which point you continue to walk around on the rail until you've found a spot that half of your body can fit in, and hope its big enough for the other half by the the time you step in. All the while the boat has resumed full speed. I've adopted the "my foot is going right there, if you would like to be under it, be my guest, otherwise, MOVE!" mentality. So, that's the quick part of the quick and dirty.
Now, the dirty. You'll note the color of the water in the pictures above. Normal coloring for a canal? Maybe. Normal cause? NO. I can only assume that raw (or semi-raw) sewage is flowing into the canal because of the odor it puts off, especially in the mornings or after a several day stretch of no rain. While waiting on the dock a blind man would be made fully aware of the canal's contents. This is where those blue screens come in. While on the boat, you pull them up as high as you can to prevent water from splashing on you. They are indeed high enough for my fellow Thai boat-mates. As I have already made clear though, this boat wasn't exactly made for me. So I pull them up as high as possible and usually assume a semi-squat, duck stance to keep myself dry. (Trust me, it looks real cute). In addition to blocking the water, the screens serve another purpose, your last test before exiting the boat. As the boat approaches your destination you climb back out onto the rail to let the driver know that this is your stop. The climbing effort is made significantly more difficult by the need to lower the screen (but not to early, we don't want to be splashed) and then step over without getting tripped up and falling to our presumed death in the poo water.
So now you know my commute. All of this to say that I do this every morning and afternoon and have yet to have any major problems, and every time I arrive at my destination I do so feeling like a total bad ass having once again conquered the boat.
More to come tomorrow.
Mai Pen Rai!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
It's Almost Been a Month. Wow.
The first month of this trip has flown by. We will have been here for 4 weeks on Tuesday...which isn't exactly a month, I get it, but still. So, updates.
I'm now pretty settled in at my school. I've been doing mostly solo teaching for the past week with my superior in the room observing, but next week she wont even be at the school. The classes will be all mine! I am really enjoying the teaching. My girls are wonderful, just a little chatty sometimes but nothing major. I teach 21 hours a week, but have to be at school Mon-Fri from 7:30 to 4:30...aka I've been thrust into adulthood. I get up every morning at 6:00!!!! Anyone who know anything about me knows that I like my sleep...so I go to bed by like 10:30 or so...I feel old. Meanwhile I gt up at 6, get ready and then begin my commute to work. I take a taxi from my apartment to the BTS (Skytrain, Basically the MARTA of Bangkok), take the BTS two stops and then...wait for it...I take the motor bike from the BTS to my school. Somehow I always knew that the bike would be part of my daily commute since I hated it so much early on. I'm beginning to be ok with it. I will never love it because its so freaking scary but I can be ok with it.
Funny Story: Remember how in the last blog I talked about the rain? Ok, so. It rains pretty consistently every afternoon, sometimes early afternoon and other times right about the time I'm beginning my trek home (which is the exact reverse of the sequence mentioned above). So last week I'm getting ready to leave work, as always I look at the window of the teachers' office to see what the weather is doing as I'm packing up and the weather looks pretty ok, not great but ok. As I'm walking out it starts to drizzle a little bit. (Teacher Wesley did not have an umbrella with him) So I pick up the pace a little and then the bottom falls out. Damn. So I find the nearest sheltered bench and sit down to wait it out. Mai Pen Rai right? I mean realistically how long coud it really rain that hard? (raining house pets) Well as it turns out it could rain that hard for quite a while, because I sat there for an HOUR before deciding to make a go of it. So I start the quarter mile or so walk to where we catch the bikes. In that very short walk I managed to douse every fiber of my being. Also, the drainage on that street is not what it should be so it turns into a small pond with the curbs acting like banks. And I think we all know what happens when cars go rolling through 5 or 6 inches of water...ok so I'm walking next to that. Finally I have to ride the bike. Holy hell, y'all. Mai Pen Rai nothing at this point. I was swearing up a storm. I flag a bike and am hoping to make this the quickest bike rid of my life...but it seemed like the longest. BECAUSE. When you're on a moving vehicle in the rain one would think you're moving so fast that you could dodge all the rain right? wrong. It is exactly the opposite. Every drop of rain hit me as we were going. AND the motorbike drivers like to run through all the puddles bc its fun for them. So when I got to the BTS I was soaked and not happy about it.
I hate rain.
Last week was fairly uneventful besides the rain, and the purchase of an umbrella. Except on Friday. Wattana (my school) gets out at 2:20 on fridays. I don't know why nor do I care bc it means I get to leave early and miss the rain. Except last friday. The company I work for called me and said that another teacher had called in sick and that they needed me to fill in for a 2 hr kinder lesson after I got off work at 2:20. Pissed. I was so excited to go home and be lazy while waiting for everyone else to get home. So I, of course, agree to teach and they tell me they'll send a bike for me. Awesome. The bike they sent is the guy who also works for the company and his job in part is to tote english teachers all around the city. He is notorious for driving very fast because the teachers are usually on a very tight schedule, as I was on Friday. I had 30 mins to get to a place that would take 30 mins with no traffic. (recall here that it is Friday. Rush hour.) So we're going super fast, (perk: he had a helmet for me to wear that fit suprisingly enough) and the only way to make it somewhere depsite the traffic is to pretent like there is no traffic darting between anything in your way, cars, busses, other bikes etc. It was terrible. In several place I had to move my arm or turn my body to keep from hitting rear view mirrors, and then my teacher bag smashed into the back of a bus. It has a small battle scar but nothing terrbile. So that was Friday.
That night we met up with a few of the students here from Baylor University for drinks on Khao San road. For a more detailed explaination of this google it. They're a really fun group, we're going to hang out with them a lot more.
So now you're caught up on everything Thailand. Maybe I'll have pictures from my school next post.
Mai Pen Rai!
I'm now pretty settled in at my school. I've been doing mostly solo teaching for the past week with my superior in the room observing, but next week she wont even be at the school. The classes will be all mine! I am really enjoying the teaching. My girls are wonderful, just a little chatty sometimes but nothing major. I teach 21 hours a week, but have to be at school Mon-Fri from 7:30 to 4:30...aka I've been thrust into adulthood. I get up every morning at 6:00!!!! Anyone who know anything about me knows that I like my sleep...so I go to bed by like 10:30 or so...I feel old. Meanwhile I gt up at 6, get ready and then begin my commute to work. I take a taxi from my apartment to the BTS (Skytrain, Basically the MARTA of Bangkok), take the BTS two stops and then...wait for it...I take the motor bike from the BTS to my school. Somehow I always knew that the bike would be part of my daily commute since I hated it so much early on. I'm beginning to be ok with it. I will never love it because its so freaking scary but I can be ok with it.
Funny Story: Remember how in the last blog I talked about the rain? Ok, so. It rains pretty consistently every afternoon, sometimes early afternoon and other times right about the time I'm beginning my trek home (which is the exact reverse of the sequence mentioned above). So last week I'm getting ready to leave work, as always I look at the window of the teachers' office to see what the weather is doing as I'm packing up and the weather looks pretty ok, not great but ok. As I'm walking out it starts to drizzle a little bit. (Teacher Wesley did not have an umbrella with him) So I pick up the pace a little and then the bottom falls out. Damn. So I find the nearest sheltered bench and sit down to wait it out. Mai Pen Rai right? I mean realistically how long coud it really rain that hard? (raining house pets) Well as it turns out it could rain that hard for quite a while, because I sat there for an HOUR before deciding to make a go of it. So I start the quarter mile or so walk to where we catch the bikes. In that very short walk I managed to douse every fiber of my being. Also, the drainage on that street is not what it should be so it turns into a small pond with the curbs acting like banks. And I think we all know what happens when cars go rolling through 5 or 6 inches of water...ok so I'm walking next to that. Finally I have to ride the bike. Holy hell, y'all. Mai Pen Rai nothing at this point. I was swearing up a storm. I flag a bike and am hoping to make this the quickest bike rid of my life...but it seemed like the longest. BECAUSE. When you're on a moving vehicle in the rain one would think you're moving so fast that you could dodge all the rain right? wrong. It is exactly the opposite. Every drop of rain hit me as we were going. AND the motorbike drivers like to run through all the puddles bc its fun for them. So when I got to the BTS I was soaked and not happy about it.
I hate rain.
Last week was fairly uneventful besides the rain, and the purchase of an umbrella. Except on Friday. Wattana (my school) gets out at 2:20 on fridays. I don't know why nor do I care bc it means I get to leave early and miss the rain. Except last friday. The company I work for called me and said that another teacher had called in sick and that they needed me to fill in for a 2 hr kinder lesson after I got off work at 2:20. Pissed. I was so excited to go home and be lazy while waiting for everyone else to get home. So I, of course, agree to teach and they tell me they'll send a bike for me. Awesome. The bike they sent is the guy who also works for the company and his job in part is to tote english teachers all around the city. He is notorious for driving very fast because the teachers are usually on a very tight schedule, as I was on Friday. I had 30 mins to get to a place that would take 30 mins with no traffic. (recall here that it is Friday. Rush hour.) So we're going super fast, (perk: he had a helmet for me to wear that fit suprisingly enough) and the only way to make it somewhere depsite the traffic is to pretent like there is no traffic darting between anything in your way, cars, busses, other bikes etc. It was terrible. In several place I had to move my arm or turn my body to keep from hitting rear view mirrors, and then my teacher bag smashed into the back of a bus. It has a small battle scar but nothing terrbile. So that was Friday.
That night we met up with a few of the students here from Baylor University for drinks on Khao San road. For a more detailed explaination of this google it. They're a really fun group, we're going to hang out with them a lot more.
So now you're caught up on everything Thailand. Maybe I'll have pictures from my school next post.
Mai Pen Rai!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Motorbikes
I don't have much time to post tonight, hopefully I will tomorrow. In the meantime though, here is a video by Al Jazeera about the motorbike taxis that I talked about before. Please note that motorbikes are now a part of my everyday commute to work. Yes, thats right, I take one every day...twice a day.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/08/20108475044105208.html
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/08/20108475044105208.html
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Week 1 is in the Books!
Ok, so I messed around and let too long go by without an update, so now I've got quite a bit to report. So lets not waste any time with pleasantries and dive right in.
After our short and scary run in with the motor bikes, we spent a few days visiting schools and doing interviews so that all of us could be placed at schools. I've been selected to teach at Wattana Wittaya Academy for girls. For the first few weeks I'll be shadoing several teachers around the school to "get me sea legs" so to speak, but when I finally get my own classes I will be teaching an Intensive English Course to students in Pratom 4 (Elementary Grade 4) and regular converstational English to students in Pratom 6 (Elem. Grade 6) The grades are a little different here, so just go with me. If you want a detailed explanation hit up wikipedia or something.
The mentality toward new teachers here is very interesting. It's very much a sink or swim situation. On the first day we were to be shadowing, I was asked to stay back at the office to fill in for a teacher that had called out sick on a private lesson with a 6 yr old boy....needless to say I was pretty nervous going into it, but once we got going we were ok. Kaboon (his name though it sounds a lot like a cleaning product somebody yells at you in the states) knew a lot more English than I expected him to, and did surprisingly well considering he had a 2 hr lesson. Whoever thought scheduling a private lesson for 2 hrs with a 6 yr old was a good idea has never taught a 2 hr lesson to a 6 yr old. The lesson went off without a hitch except for at about 20 minutes in Kaboon looked at me and said "TeeeCha, Toy-li" to which I responded "no Kaboon we'll play with toys later, right now can you tell me what letter snake starts with?" His urgent reply "TEECHA, TOILET!!" After which he went tearing up the stairs into the women's bathroom, forgetting to close the door which solicited quite the laugh from all the ladies in the office as I tried to keep up with him up the stairs and pull the door shut just as he was beginning to...well, you know.
After that slightly stressful engagement, we had a four day weekend because of a Bhuddist holiday, so we went to Pattaya, which is south east of Bangkok, on the coast. We saw an elephant show (which was pretty freaking awesome). These elephants did all sorts of things: played soccer, rode bikes (not the motorized kind), played darts, painted, and a lot of other stuff i can't remember right now. After that we went to the beach for an hour or so, then came back to Bangkok to enjoy the rest of our long weekend.
Oh, here's a fun story. They told us before we arrived that when we got here it would be in the middle of the rainy season, which was odd because for the first few days we were here, we didnt see a drop of rain. Until. One day we were walking back from the office (we walk places here...despite the having to put your life on the line to do so). So, we're walking back and the bottom falls out. We're talking rain drops the size of house pets). We were all wearing our professional attire and I couldn't run because I had just slipped my shoes back on (we take them off when we go into the office) and I didn't take the time to re-tie them. So needless to say, we got drenched. It was terrible.
As promised, this time I've got a few pictures. These are of my apartment, of which you'll all be super jealous!
This is my bed. The sheets were picked out by some of the thai women who work in the office...they have CareBears on them. Also, notice no blankets to cover with...you don't need them when it's a million degrees outside.
This is my little (very) vanity/desk situation, and my wardrobe where all of my teacher clothes are.
And last but not least.
This is my toilet! You'll notice it is western in style (thank God). Look closely though, and you'll see what appears to be what one would use to wash dishes in the sink off to the left of the picture...lets just say that one isn't for dishes.
Mai Pen Rai!!
After our short and scary run in with the motor bikes, we spent a few days visiting schools and doing interviews so that all of us could be placed at schools. I've been selected to teach at Wattana Wittaya Academy for girls. For the first few weeks I'll be shadoing several teachers around the school to "get me sea legs" so to speak, but when I finally get my own classes I will be teaching an Intensive English Course to students in Pratom 4 (Elementary Grade 4) and regular converstational English to students in Pratom 6 (Elem. Grade 6) The grades are a little different here, so just go with me. If you want a detailed explanation hit up wikipedia or something.
The mentality toward new teachers here is very interesting. It's very much a sink or swim situation. On the first day we were to be shadowing, I was asked to stay back at the office to fill in for a teacher that had called out sick on a private lesson with a 6 yr old boy....needless to say I was pretty nervous going into it, but once we got going we were ok. Kaboon (his name though it sounds a lot like a cleaning product somebody yells at you in the states) knew a lot more English than I expected him to, and did surprisingly well considering he had a 2 hr lesson. Whoever thought scheduling a private lesson for 2 hrs with a 6 yr old was a good idea has never taught a 2 hr lesson to a 6 yr old. The lesson went off without a hitch except for at about 20 minutes in Kaboon looked at me and said "TeeeCha, Toy-li" to which I responded "no Kaboon we'll play with toys later, right now can you tell me what letter snake starts with?" His urgent reply "TEECHA, TOILET!!" After which he went tearing up the stairs into the women's bathroom, forgetting to close the door which solicited quite the laugh from all the ladies in the office as I tried to keep up with him up the stairs and pull the door shut just as he was beginning to...well, you know.
After that slightly stressful engagement, we had a four day weekend because of a Bhuddist holiday, so we went to Pattaya, which is south east of Bangkok, on the coast. We saw an elephant show (which was pretty freaking awesome). These elephants did all sorts of things: played soccer, rode bikes (not the motorized kind), played darts, painted, and a lot of other stuff i can't remember right now. After that we went to the beach for an hour or so, then came back to Bangkok to enjoy the rest of our long weekend.
Oh, here's a fun story. They told us before we arrived that when we got here it would be in the middle of the rainy season, which was odd because for the first few days we were here, we didnt see a drop of rain. Until. One day we were walking back from the office (we walk places here...despite the having to put your life on the line to do so). So, we're walking back and the bottom falls out. We're talking rain drops the size of house pets). We were all wearing our professional attire and I couldn't run because I had just slipped my shoes back on (we take them off when we go into the office) and I didn't take the time to re-tie them. So needless to say, we got drenched. It was terrible.
As promised, this time I've got a few pictures. These are of my apartment, of which you'll all be super jealous!
This is my bed. The sheets were picked out by some of the thai women who work in the office...they have CareBears on them. Also, notice no blankets to cover with...you don't need them when it's a million degrees outside.
This is my little (very) vanity/desk situation, and my wardrobe where all of my teacher clothes are.
And last but not least.
This is my toilet! You'll notice it is western in style (thank God). Look closely though, and you'll see what appears to be what one would use to wash dishes in the sink off to the left of the picture...lets just say that one isn't for dishes.
Mai Pen Rai!!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Day 1
Ok, so I don't have a lot of time to post right now. More to come later, just a quick story.
Today, our guides came to pick us up from our apartment building to go to the office. We were all dressed in professional atire, as requested...and were expecting the same van we'd used to come home from the airport. Then a fleet of six motorbikes come around the corner...you know what comes next.
I crammed my American size ass on the back of a tiny little bike, held on to my briefcase with my left hand and death gripped the driver's shoulder with my right as we flew down the road at close to 45 mph...did I have a helmet? no.
Here's to already pushing Mai Pen Rai to the limit.
Hopefully I have pictures with the next post!
Today, our guides came to pick us up from our apartment building to go to the office. We were all dressed in professional atire, as requested...and were expecting the same van we'd used to come home from the airport. Then a fleet of six motorbikes come around the corner...you know what comes next.
I crammed my American size ass on the back of a tiny little bike, held on to my briefcase with my left hand and death gripped the driver's shoulder with my right as we flew down the road at close to 45 mph...did I have a helmet? no.
Here's to already pushing Mai Pen Rai to the limit.
Hopefully I have pictures with the next post!
Friday, July 16, 2010
I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane...Be Back in 10 Months!
So I think its only proper for a travel blog to have at least one posting before the actual trip itself starts to give some insight as to the writer and what he hopes for in the coming trip. So here goes...
On the off chance that someone who doesn't know me already finds this blog: Firstly, I'm sorry if its not funny...I'm trying! Second, a bit about myself. I recently graduated from college with a BA, I majored in Political Science. After four years of an AMAZING college experience I have NO idea what I want to do now. So naturally, I've decided to go teach English in a country that I've never been to, that speaks a language I can't, having never taught a day in my life. Sounds fun, right? (That reminds me, you should know two things before you read any more: 1. I'm a little ADD sometimes so if you are expecting logical flow or a well organized masterpiece then stop reading now...you won't like this. 2. I have the punctuation skills of a remedial high schooler. I get it. I won't need you to critique it, just get past it. If, you, cant', stop; reading, now> This blog is really gonna, piss, you off (sometimes I'm going to punctuate sentences (or fragments) incorrectly just to keep you guessing at how remedial remedial really is.)
I am not the kind of person that one would expect to embark on this kind of experience. I enjoy being in an environment where I'm comfortable. I like knowing everyone around me and being able to make them laugh (with me or at me, it doesn't matter). I have lots of friends but they are all truly my friends. I can open up to them and they (hopefully) feel like they can open up to me. I love these people and it is a little ridiculous to even begin to imagine being away from them for 10 months. But that is exactly why I'm going on this trip. To find out who I am, separate of all of that. It's really not as existential as it sounds...I promise.
This trip is organized through at new program at the school I've just graduated from so it has been all the things you would expect of a new program. Details have been (and still are) sparce, but the excitement is definately there. I'm traveling with 5 other recent grads from my school and honestly, I shit you not, we know little more than what plane to get on, and that once we get to Thailand we will be teaching at some school, maybe together, maybe not. Which is where the title of this blog comes in.
"Mai Pen Rai" is a very popular Thai phrase that from what I've learned really sums up Thai culture. It means "nothing really matters that much", "nothing is that important", "Hakuna Matata" or "chill the fuck out." Which is interesting because things REALLY DO matter that much to me, things ARE that important to me. When I said "SEMI" high strung under the title, it was really just to make myself feel better. So Mai Pen Rai will be a huge challenge for me. But hopefully an interesting one to read about for you.
Wow...all that and I wasn't even sure I wanted to post before I left. Hopefully future posts will be shorter. I leave Monday July 19th 2010. After that, my goal is to post weekly...we'll just have to see how that goes. Follow the blog if ya want, I hope you enjoy reading it almost as much as I enjoy my trip and hopefully my struggles provide you some comic relief.
Until next time,
Mai Pen Rai!
On the off chance that someone who doesn't know me already finds this blog: Firstly, I'm sorry if its not funny...I'm trying! Second, a bit about myself. I recently graduated from college with a BA, I majored in Political Science. After four years of an AMAZING college experience I have NO idea what I want to do now. So naturally, I've decided to go teach English in a country that I've never been to, that speaks a language I can't, having never taught a day in my life. Sounds fun, right? (That reminds me, you should know two things before you read any more: 1. I'm a little ADD sometimes so if you are expecting logical flow or a well organized masterpiece then stop reading now...you won't like this. 2. I have the punctuation skills of a remedial high schooler. I get it. I won't need you to critique it, just get past it. If, you, cant', stop; reading, now> This blog is really gonna, piss, you off (sometimes I'm going to punctuate sentences (or fragments) incorrectly just to keep you guessing at how remedial remedial really is.)
I am not the kind of person that one would expect to embark on this kind of experience. I enjoy being in an environment where I'm comfortable. I like knowing everyone around me and being able to make them laugh (with me or at me, it doesn't matter). I have lots of friends but they are all truly my friends. I can open up to them and they (hopefully) feel like they can open up to me. I love these people and it is a little ridiculous to even begin to imagine being away from them for 10 months. But that is exactly why I'm going on this trip. To find out who I am, separate of all of that. It's really not as existential as it sounds...I promise.
This trip is organized through at new program at the school I've just graduated from so it has been all the things you would expect of a new program. Details have been (and still are) sparce, but the excitement is definately there. I'm traveling with 5 other recent grads from my school and honestly, I shit you not, we know little more than what plane to get on, and that once we get to Thailand we will be teaching at some school, maybe together, maybe not. Which is where the title of this blog comes in.
"Mai Pen Rai" is a very popular Thai phrase that from what I've learned really sums up Thai culture. It means "nothing really matters that much", "nothing is that important", "Hakuna Matata" or "chill the fuck out." Which is interesting because things REALLY DO matter that much to me, things ARE that important to me. When I said "SEMI" high strung under the title, it was really just to make myself feel better. So Mai Pen Rai will be a huge challenge for me. But hopefully an interesting one to read about for you.
Wow...all that and I wasn't even sure I wanted to post before I left. Hopefully future posts will be shorter. I leave Monday July 19th 2010. After that, my goal is to post weekly...we'll just have to see how that goes. Follow the blog if ya want, I hope you enjoy reading it almost as much as I enjoy my trip and hopefully my struggles provide you some comic relief.
Until next time,
Mai Pen Rai!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
